House in husbands name only- can I protect myself and my children?

[Leafyleaferson]

My home was in my family since my grandmother was a child. My father was brought up there and I moved in after my grandfather passed away and rented it from my dad and his brother for several years.

DH moved in a couple of years after I did and we have had our children here and got married. We have both poured a lot of love into the house.

We couldn't get a mortgage together as my credit score was poor at the time so the house is in my husband's name only.

Four years later my score is now excellent and I have voiced my desire to be on the mortgage / deeds to have as much right to the house as he does.

What can I do in the meantime to protect myself and my children? I'm worried that he will remortgage and leave us financially unsafe. Sorry if this is not making sense, we are not planning to split but we bought the house from my family so did not pay as much as it is worth now and it isnt a huge mortgage. I really don't want to remortgage but for reasons I won't go into here I'm worried he might want to.

Get your name on it this week -

On the mortgage or the deeds? Thanks

Both!

If you are married and in England then it is a marital asset regardless of names on the mortgage or deeds.

So he would not be able to remortgage without my consent?

He can add you to the deeds. My husband did this as I had sold my house when we met and paid his mortgage off.

Yes he could if the current mortgage and deeds are in his name.

What you need in the interim is a home rights notice registered on the deeds at Land Registry. This will alert anyone checking the deeds that you have certain rights. I'm not sure though if that would stop him remortgaging the house. Technically he should declare anyone over the age of 17 that lives there so that the lender can contact them & get them to sign a disclaimer saying that they have no right to stay in the property should he default. Hopefully a Home Rights notice would stop this......but I am not a lawyer or solicitor.

He doesnt need your consent. Your name is on nothing

He would be able to remortgage. You need to get this sorted, sharpish.

See a solicitor about this ASAP.

Set up a property alert (it's free) so you can see if mortgage lenders are making enquiries on the house:
HM Land Registry - Property Alert

Not all mortgage lenders allow the deeds to be differ to the mortgage! So do not presume just being added to the deeds will be a solution.

Solicitor asap

What does your husband think. Have you asked him to add you to the mortgage and deeds? Marital assets are shared as earlier posters have advised. Mortgage companies don’t like deeds being in joint names but mortgage only in 1 so it’s usual to add to both at same time. You are protected though in being married, if you are worried about it being remortgaged without you knowing then the property alert could work to a certain extent it would warn you of any activity. Obviously if you think your husband could do that then it sounds like there are trust issues.

At the least get him to write/ re-write his will leaving you the house. Otherwise he could leave it to anybody.

1. Register your home rights
2. Update your wills

And yes, registering your home rights with the land registry totally protects you.

And if, god forbid, you do split, the house will be treated as a joint asset (because you’re married), even if the deed and mortgage are in his name.

He cannot sell or remortgage without your consent with home rights measures in place.
And it’s active from the moment the LR receives the application (even if it takes 3 months for them to file it). I had this confirmed. You will then receive your own copy of the notice in the post.
They’re very easy to get through to by phone if you have any questions. They pick up quickly (unusual these days!).
Here’s the application.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-of-home-rights-registration-hr1

If he re-mortgages with another lender, the lender will require you to consent anyway. How is he with money? If he has a good credit score how likely is he to borrow more in an unreasonable way?

You can register a home rights notice as a spouse now. Later at the point of remortgaging and if he agrees he and you can put the house and mortgage in joint names.

What is your husband's view on this?

I'm confused. This is a house in your family. Why did you need a mortgage? Was it to purchase the house from your father?

Our house is in my name for the same reason yours is in your husband's name. DH has to sign a form every time we remortgage. I couldn't sell it without his consent.
He still has the same rights to the property, and if we were to divorce he would be entitled to half the equity. Nothing is different from if he were on the mortgage and deeds, apart from the ability to actually get a mortgage in the first place (which proved nearly impossible because of husband credit rating), and crucially for him (and you), he does not have equal responsibility for paying the mortgage, that is all on me.

Unfortunately you find yourself in a situation that is somewhat of your own making.
Be honest with yourself, is your credit rating really good enough now not to negatively affect your ability as a couple to remortgage? What about your spending habits, or whatever got you a poor credit history in the first place? Does he (and you) trust you with money?
I'm not sure if you can be on the deeds but not the mortgage, but you could ask your husband to remortgage with you next time (no sense in doing so early because of financial penalties). He doesn't have to agree. I think you should decide now what to do if that happens. Accept it? Separate?
Also consider is it actually worth the hassle? What would you do if he stopped paying the mortgage for some reason, dragging you back into debt and poor credit?

Do what works for you and your family. It doesn't matter what people think is 'right' on here, everyone's situation is different, and nothing is ever equal.

I hope you've got your name on it op , if not do it ...now honestly from bitter experience you'd be amazed how people can screw you over even your own husband ..see my latest post